There are people who believe Silicon Valley is a misnomer. ... Iron Ferrite Valley would be a more appropriate name, although the case has been harder to make since IBM decided to sell its business in magnetic disk data storage to Hitachi.

A half-century ago, IBM began research that would lead to the first disk drive.

Almaden Research Center has long been considered one of IBM's crown jewels ... Now, part of it will become a joint venture to be 70% owned by Hitachi.

So there was some quiet grumbling ... as many technologists wondered whether the computer maker was not mortgaging its future.

Does IBM actually have a grand strategy in data storage [or is it about improving the short-term bottom line]?

It may take a peculiar kind of company to stay alive in [the rapidly consolidating storage industry.]

The technology is changing even faster. Execution of each new generation of technology has to be flawless or else market share can collapse overnight.

For decades, critics have been predicting the imminent obsolescence of hard-disk drives. IBM may have finally decided that the writing is indeed on the wall.